Light- to medium-amber in the glass, with crystal clarity, Over-The-Rhine Ale produced quite an impressive head for us with an aggressive pour. On the nose, look for some fruity, juicy notes, almost like apple juice spiked with brown sugar, with ample ripe red apple notes, pears, a touch of Belgian-beer-like sweetness, fresh barley grains, a hint of alcohol, and grassy, earthy and somewhat woody hop notes that lean more toward citrus as the beer warms.

Pick Axe cuts a fine figure in the glass, presenting a medium amber hue with good clarity and plenty of persistent dense foam that leaves lots of lace as it recedes. The aroma declares “I am an IPA” in no uncertain terms with big, sweetly floral and fruity notes with a citric and pine edge. Beneath all that hoppy goodness is a nice undercurrent of toasty, caramel malt. In the mouth, the 55 IBUs shine through upfront with firm bitterness while..

Traditionally modest in alcohol content, dry stout suffers from the misconception that it is an overly intoxicating, heavy beer. Quite the contrary, the style tends to offer up fewer calories than most far-paler Belgian-style ales or amber IPAs, for example, mainly due to the fact that it has far less alcohol. On the nose, expect notes of roasted coffee beans and a just a hint of chocolate. Flavorwise, this is a coffee-driven malt profile—all...

Brewed with a bit of maple syrup to add an interesting extra dimension, this nut brown ale pours a rich, deep hue that’s actually quite red when held to the light. This is an attractive beer – we’re off to a good start. On the nose, the malts are prominent, with a moderate bready character and big caramelized notes that lend a distinctly sweet impression. Look for a mild toasty and nutty quality, along with a subtle but distinct hint of maple...

This Double IPA from Christian Moerlein pours an attractive amber color with good clarity and a robust cap of persistent foam which laces nicely as one drains their glass. The expressive aroma offers up quite an inviting array of scents including citrus zest reminiscent of grapefruit and lime, herbal spiciness, floral notes, a hint of pine, and tropical fruit impressions. Weighing in at a big 98 IBU (we’ve also seen an alternative figure of 126...

Tommyknocker developed their IPA & A Half to offer a bit more oomph than a traditional IPA (like their Pickaxe IPA) without straying into the territory of double/imperial IPA. As such, the IBUs are elevated compared to most IPAs, but are not quite as high as the 90-100+ that we often see from contemporary double IPAs. IPA & A Half pours a copper-amber color with a sizeable head of foam which coasts the glass with sticky lace as it slowly...

When you pour this beer you’ll see we ain’t lyin’ – this is one black beer. But Xingu is not to be confused with the German style of black beer known as Schwarzbier; this is really a different species and is quite unusual. On the nose, there are not the big roasty notes one expects from such a dark brew. Instead there’s an impressive complexity including sweetness akin to treacle (which is like a heavy, almost medicinal molasses), notes of...

This iconic British ale is quite stunning in the glass, presenting a rich reddish-amber hue capped with a moderately-sized off-white head which drops some thin lace as you drink. On the nose, look for light notes of caramel and toffee along with a definite fruity overtone, likely both from esters produced during fermentation as well as Morland’s choice of hops, purported to be a blend of Challenger, Pilgrim, First Gold, and Goldings. On the...

Grand Cru is BJ’s holiday seasonal. It was originally a New Year’s Eve release celebrating the new millennium (which is basically a really small eon) and, after winning awards with it early on at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, they stuck with the tradition of Belgian brewers by tweaking the holiday-seasonal recipe from year to year. About eight years ago, BJ’s wisely went back to that original award-winning Grand Cru..

Some of our Rare Beer Club members may already be familiar with the folks at High Water Brewing in northern California. Their Aphotic imperial porter (the name’s Greek, translating to “without light”) is another High Water core, showcasing a masterful depth via dark malts. And then there’s Hop Riot IPA, the brewery’s flagship—an aggressively dank and lean West-Coast IPA, which offers up an excellent taste of what these folks can do with pungent hops....